The Addis Ababa Declaration on Global Health Equity: A call to action

Background: Health inequalities occur through differences in health status or in the distribution of health determinants between different population groups. Access to basic health services was affirmed as a fundamental human right by the declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978. The reality is that, in 2012, more than 40 years later, many people in resource-poor settings still do not have equitable access to even basic health services. In many places this gap is widening.Rationale: In order to tackle the different global health inequities there is still a need for a concerted effort by different public health experts and institutions. As a multidisciplinary professional association, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) which has a mission of promoting and protecting global public health is one of the institutions which stand for such causes. One of the WFPHA platforms for such kind of initiatives is its triennial World Congress on Public Health, a scientific conference for public health professionals from around the world.The WFPHA Congress: The 13th World Congress on Public Health with the theme of “Moving towards Global Health Equity: Opportunities and Threats”, was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from April 23-27, 2012. The congress brought together over 3000 public health experts from more than 100 countries to discuss different health issues including its major theme global health equity. Participants of the congress touched several public health issues that include: major health threats, health inequity, migration, fair trade, revised MDGs, development aid and health workforce which were used to forward recommendation for action.Call for action: Based on the different interaction, at the conclusion of the 13th World Congress on Public Health, the WFPHA issued the Addis Ababa Declaration, a call to action on Global Health Equity.